There were fireworks, there was a flyover, there was Will Ferrell screaming and Keith Williams Jr. crooning and four months of cheers unleashed by fans wearing championship belts and howling grins.
But the real stars of Thursday’s Dodger opening day show never made a sound.
They arrived silently at the end of the pregame ceremony, carefully held by two of the men who helped win them, lifted high for all those who so passionately longed for them.
They were the last two Commissioner’s Trophies, the back-to-back World Series championship trophies, the two symbols of the Dodgers domination held side by side in the afternoon sun.
Man, it was beautiful. Goodness, how they sparkled. Incredible, how they glowed.
It was almost as if they were powered by some electrical force, some sort of championship current running between them, lighting them up with a blinding power curated by the battered fingers of the two veterans who touched them..
Freddie Freeman, whose grand slam doomed the New York Yankees, held the 2024 trophy. Miguel Rojas, whose home run stunned the Toronto Blue Jays, held the 2025 trophy.
Together they brought the trophies to the dugout from center field while riding in the back of a blue convertible driven by Ferrell as part of an elaborate video skit.
It was the first time many had seen the hardware side by side, and, amid audible gasps, their power was unmistakable. The greatness of the Dodgers accomplishment came to life on a day when their new task became equally clear.
“Three-peat!” screamed one of the pregame musicians.
Welcome, Dodgers, to 2026.
While manager Dave Roberts downplayed the three-peat talk before the opening 8-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, you know it’s here, it’s there, it’s everywhere.
“At this moment, very minimal,” said Roberts when asked about the pressure. “…So yeah, hopefully we can keep that to a minimum throughout the season. But yeah, there’s obviously going to be a lot of talk about it.”
Thursday did nothing to dampen that talk. It was as if last season’s Game 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays was still being played. The Dodgers behaved like the exact same team with some of the same heroes.
The winning pitcher? Once again, it was Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who threw six solid innings with six strikeouts and no walks.
The game-changing play? Once again, it was Andy Pages, whose three-run home run in the fifth inning gave the Dodgers a lead they never lost.
The final big blow? Yep, Will Smith, whose two-run homer in the seventh inning clinched it.
There was even a World Series star coming out of the bullpen, new cult hero Will Klein entering the game to the night’s loudest ovation and throwing a scoreless inning.
It’s as if the Dodgers have been on the same roll for four months…with no signs of slowing. This could be crazy. This already is crazy.
Other than the cool trophies and the Diamondbacks trampling, the most notable show Thursday was unwittingly staged by Dodger Stadium itself.
Your dutiful correspondent’s first impression of his favorite place on earth upon returning here for his 37th home opener wasn’t about the deep green or brilliant blue or enduring mountainscape.
It was, when did this place become Las Vegas?
Illuminated by the new grotesquely red Uniqlo Field billboard hanging high above center field, the stadium appears to have been transformed into something straight from NASCAR, advertisements filling every nook and cranny of the pavilion and beyond. There are giant billboards above the bullpens. There are scribbled ads on the bullpen walls. There are screaming displays for beer, soda and health care, the latter of which you will need if you heed too many of these ads.
The incessant sales pitches are buffeted by the usual deafening pounding music, which makes Vin Scully Avenue seem like Las Vegas Boulevard.
Was it always like this? It doesn’t seem like it. The Dodgers have always been relentless billboard salesmen, but since the arrival of Shohei Ohtani, they’ve become a global attraction with seemingly every major company on earth willing to pay for a piece of their success.
Fans will probably notice that the biggest difference this year is the $125-million sponsorship deal with Uniqlo, a Japanese apparel company that bought center field. Chavez Ravine is now officially known as Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium and, yeah, on Thursday it was awful hearing public address announcer Todd Leitz introduce it like that.
Not to worry, nobody in their right mind is ever going to call it that. Nonetheless, the whole atmosphere was weird and unsettling.
Still, it’s hard to blame the Dodgers. They’ve spent gobs of money building a two-time defending champion, and those bucks have got to come from somewhere.
You want Kyle Tucker? Live with the beer ad. You want a $1 billion rotation? Deal with the bank ad.
Unlike many other teams that have made baseball a haven for cheapskates, the Dodgers invest much of their revenue back into the roster.
It’s not always pretty. It can be loud and distracting and obnoxious. But it works.
As night fell on a blessed blue Thursday, the Dodgers had won their eighth straight home opener. They did it with pitching, hitting, depth, and two of the prettiest pieces of jewelry you’ve ever seen.
It was a day to celebrate the completion of the most incredible two-year journey in franchise history.
It was also a day to realize that the journey has just begun.
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